This invention relates to the processing of photographic material. The invention particularly relates to a transportable processing unit for processing photographic material.
The invention relates to the photographic processing of film and paper in a processing machine, e.g. a minilab. Processing machines are not usually portable. It is desirable to have a processing machine or minilab that is portable. It is also desirable to have a processing machine without the need to empty the chemicals therefrom, or have a hydraulic truck to move it. Such a machine can be used at events where the machine could be quickly set up to process customer films on site. The machine could be transported in van or a truck or even the boot of a car. Such events include big events like the Olympic games or football matches to local fairs and sports events. Other locations could be on passenger ships and trains, for example the Eurostar train. It will be understood that these are examples only and the invention is applicable to any site where the processing of photographic film is wanted.
As stated above, processing machines are not generally transportable. Most machines are large, heavy and contain several liters of chemicals. Attempts have been made to make a portable processor. Some small tabletop machines have been made. These are mostly manual and are certainly not apparently dry in operation. Also, these machines do not demonstrate the film throughput or automated operation suitable for the small minilab market. A small minilab is defined as one that can process between 10-20 rolls of 135-36 film every hour when working at full capacity.
A mobile processor is disclosed in WO93/04404. This document describes a xe2x80x9csuitcase processorxe2x80x9d which is computer controlled. The processor is in the form of a case-like container. The base of the container includes processing units in which film to be processed is accommodated. The lid of the container houses containers which contain chemicals for processing the film. The chemicals can be fed to the processing units in the base by means of valves operable under control of a computer, also within the case-like container. This processor is portable but cannot handle the capacity of a minilab. In addition there is a strong possibility of leakage of the processing chemicals.
It is an aim of the invention to provide an easily transportable processing machine in which there are no open tanks containing processing solutions.
According to the present invention there is provided a portable processing apparatus for closed processing photographic material including a processing chamber housed in a transportable unit, the unit being adapted to house a replaceable sealed cartridge containing the processing solutions in individual containers and a sealed waste container, both the cartridge and the waste container being connectable to the processing chamber via fluid tight valve connectors, substantially no processing solution being held in the processing chamber between processing operations.
The machine according to the invention is apparently dry, i.e. there are no open tanks containing processing chemical solutions which may leak. It is also easily transportable and the set up time for processing is short. The processing machine may therefore be placed in a multitude of outlets, or events which may not normally be associated with photo-processing. The owner of the processor can maximize the return on his investment in the processor by being able to place his processor wherever there is a market demand for photographs. The processor is also suitable for environments such as ships and trains where the movement thereof would normally interfere with the quality of processing.